Covington Investment Advisors, Inc. Blog

Covington recently presented their observations on the market and economy at our annual shooting event held at Pike Run Country Club. Please find our presentation commentary below.
Economic Update
Looking at the business cycle framework, global expansion remains solid but many major economies have progressed toward more advanced stages of the business cycle where growth is moderating, credit tightens, and earnings start to come under pressure. Emerging markets face headwinds from China's industrial slowdown, looming trade uncertainties, and global monetary tightening. Europe has experienced the most significant slowdown among developed regions.
2017 was the first year since 2007 in which all major economies have growing/expansionary economies as measured by GDP growth. The trend is expected to be the same for 2018 with the exception of Argentina which is on pace to decline -2.83%. Note that Argentina has 40% interest rates, is highly dependent on commodities, plagued with corruption, and in...

October is recognized as National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and I’m happy to promote some best practices to help you stay safe online. At Covington, we are vigilant in addressing cyber security risks at all times. It is an ongoing topic of concern for us, our clients, and our regulators. We hope you find this topic informative and helpful in protecting yourself online.
You’ve heard it before—regularly change your passwords. Who has time for that? Do you also use the same or similar password for multiple login accounts? To be honest, I’m guilty of some of this practice. Ultimately, I am not keeping my private data secure, and what’s worse is that I only use my one personal e-mail address for everything. Sound familiar to you?
Receiving sensitive information to your one e-mail address is all too common for many. I have my personal correspondence, vacation information (flights,...

The S&P 500 telecommunication sector is getting a new look. For years, the telecom sector has been one of the smallest sectors in the S&P and dominated by two names; Verizon and AT&T. This fall, the telecom sector will be replaced with a new sector labeled as the ‘Communication Services Sector’. As the name implies, the new sector will be more geared towards the way that media is now delivered to customers such as streaming and downloads. Morgan Stanley Capital International, typically abbreviated MSCI, summarized the new sector on their website:
“The last several years have seen an evolution in the way we communicate and access entertainment content and other information. This evolution is a result of integration between telecommunications, media, and internet companies. Companies have further moved in this direction by consolidating through mergers and acquisitions and many now offer bundled services such as cable, internet services, and telephone...

I am pleased to announce that we have hired Mr. Nick Allen to work as an intern this summer. He will be assigned a number of projects for the company including various analyses, research projects and technology studies.
Nick is a finance major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and is on track to graduate in December of this year. His courses of study include finance, investment, economics and management. Nick also serves as the Sector Leader of the Consumer Staples Section of the Student Managed Investment Portfolio organization at the college. This student organization is quite successful as it currently has $1.7 million in assets under management and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the last five quarters.
In addition to his financial studies and experiences, Nick has worked in the computer labs for the IUP Libraries. In this capacity he assists library employees and patrons with computer hardware...

Fifteen years ago today Covington Investment Advisors was incorporated. The success we have had with and for our clients has allowed us to grow, hire more talent, continually enhance our technology, purchase our building, contribute to our communities’ societal needs, and expand our overall processes to customize your financial plans providing best in class investment management services and results.
I do not hesitate to say we have formulated the best in class advisory firm as we are not a broker-dealer, nor are we affiliated with one. As an independent advisor, we have an open architectural structure to find the best financial solutions for you. We cut out all the unnecessary middlemen and their fees and we refuse any form of commissions. We are an advisory fee-based only firm. We do not sell products; we provide customized financial plans structured and managed on a separate account basis driven to address your...